Win for Writers Guild, Loss for AI
Plus: IRS insanity, robocop photo ops, and more...
Movies
When the Left and Right Came Together To Applaud Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
A Republican, a Communist, and a Catholic conservative walk onto a movie set...
Dumb Money Misses the Point About Its Meme-Stock Underdogs
The film dramatizes the pandemic-era mania around GameStop and WallStreetBets, but misunderstands the realities of financial markets.
The Best of Reason: The Pirate Preservationists
When keeping cultural archives safe means stepping outside the law.
The Pirate Preservationists
When keeping cultural archives safe means stepping outside the law
Don't Bring Back COVID Authoritarianism
People should be free to choose how cautious to be. Mask mandates, lockdowns, and closing schools won't stop the virus.
Robots Aren't Coming For Movie Stars, Yet
Artificial intelligence is not about to replace your favorite actors.
Review: The Covenant Dramatizes the Plight of Afghan Interpreters
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in a film that criticizes the U.S. immigration system.
Barbie Girls Now Live in a Much Wealthier Barbie World
The average working woman in 2023 earns enough money to buy a Barbie doll every 33 minutes. In 1959, it took nearly two hours.
Rob Long: Welcome to the Age of Blunder in Public Health, Foreign Policy, and…Hollywood
The former Cheers producer explains why the studios are failing, the writers and actors are missing the big picture, and creators fear their audience.
Hollywood Must Change—But How?
Join Reason on YouTube Thursday at 1 p.m. Eastern for a discussion about the Hollywood strikes with television writer and political commentator Rob Long.
When the Hollywood Strike Is Over, What Will be Left?
Between A.I. and TikTok, the actors and writers will be returning to a changed industry.
The Democratic Governor Who Wants Drug Legalization and Free Markets
"Government in general does a lot of things that aren't necessary," says Jared Polis.
Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer Is an Intimate Epic About the Man Who Built the Bomb
It's a portrait of a complex man, and a warning about the nuclear era he created.
Barbie Banned in Vietnam!
The glitter-filled movie got involved in authoritarian geopolitics by allegedly displaying Chinese propaganda.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Is a Dud
It might as well have been titled Indiana Jones and the Quest for Cash.
Review: How Tetris Escaped the Iron Curtain
The Apple TV+ film tells the story of an entrepreneur who helped bring a Soviet designer's game to the world.
The Flash Makes the Case Against the Multiverse
A listless, cynical wrap-up to a decade of chaotic superhero storytelling.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts Is Better Than a Transformers Sequel Has Any Right to Be
It's no Orson Welles as Unicron, sadly. But I'll take it.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Does Cinematic Diversity Right
The Little Mermaid was a dull exercise in box-checking. Spider-Verse uses its diverse cast as an opportunity for narrative delights.
Review: A Lesson on Political Ambition From Dungeons & Dragons Movie
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is more Rob Reiner than J.R.R. Tolkien.
Fast X Is a Loud, Obnoxious, Campy Bore
The 10th entry in the muscle-car series is loud, ugly, and all too self-aware.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Is a Marvel Superhero Movie Made in Poor Taste. And It's Better for It.
In 2018, director James Gunn was fired from the film for gross tweets. But this comic book sequel shows the value of his gross-out sensibility.
Review: Bragg Brothers' Pinball Depicts Repeal of the Game's Ban in New York City
Politicians in the last century accused pinball of being mob activity.
Hollywood Strike: Writers Demand More Pay, New Limits on ChatGPT
Their last strike previewed the struggles of the streaming era. This one might be giving us an early taste of the age of artificial intelligence.
How To Blow Up a Pipeline Unintentionally Indicts the Climate Movement's Fringe Activists
The movie wants to be a call to arms for climate activists. Instead, it portrays them as delusional, apocalyptic depressives.
Review: M3GAN Meets the Demand for Tech Panic
Predictably, the machine-learning robot starts killing.
Elizabeth Warren Wants the Government To Save Batgirl
Companies make decisions all the time, some of them regrettable and unfortunate, that shouldn't be any of the government's business.
Review: The Menu Is Another Movie Mocking Wealthy People
In this film, it's mean and funny enough to work.
The Expensive, Seductive Nostalgia of Field of Dreams
Why are so many filmgoers and politicians eager to prop up baseball's boondoggles?
He Ended New York City's Insane Ban on Pinball
Austin Bragg and Meredith Bragg talk Remy, libertarian parodies, and their new indie film, Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game.
Oscar-Winning Everything Everywhere All At Once Celebrates Individualism, Free Will
In a chaotic universe full of infinite realities where all choices are relative, individualism still matters.
Review: The Clumsy Anti-Muskism of Glass Onion
Hating tech billionaires is The Current Thing.
America Needs a Better Kind of Capitalism
Big corporations and entire industries constantly use their connections in Congress to get favors, no matter which party is in power.
